Best Bitter is a very English thing. A type of pale ale that has been brewed since the 19th century, it tends to look darker and have a more malty profile. And despite it’s ‘bitter’ label, I’ve never found it to have much bitterness. It’s an iconic drink that evokes memories of country pubs with local bitters and cask ales on tap, and depending on your age, old man in flat caps and tweed, drinking pints of the stuff in a smoke-filled snug bar. Or as Infinite Session put it on the side of their cans of Infinite Best – ‘Nights spent supping pints of Cask Ale in warm pubs with our mates’.
Infinite Best is the company’s latest non-alcoholic beer, launched at the end of March 2021, and it’s release seems to be the last bit of news from the company on their social media accounts. For me Infinite Session’s alcohol-free beers have been rather forgettable. Each one I’ve reviewed so far does it’s best to live up to it’s lager, pale ale or IPA moniker, but flavour-wise tend to be quite bland. Certainly drinkable, hence the ‘infinite session’, but not something to wow your taste buds, or entice a ‘full fat’ drinker over to the AF beer side. They’ve definitely got their niche in the market now, with their well-branded drinks gracing the isles of many a supermarket, and many pubs and eateries offering their beers to their customers as a non-alcoholic alternative. Maybe they’ve tried something new with Infinite Best, or maybe they’ve stuck with tradition – let’s see.
The beer pours from the can a slightly murky chestnut brown colour and produces a decent sized bone-white head. Initially it looks like it might settle, but recedes quickly, and we’re left with a few patches of foam. On the nose there’s quite a lot of malty sweetness, with hints of both toffee and chocolate to it. It’s actually quite appetising and not something I was expecting.
Malt remains dominant in the taste of the beer, with hints of roasted malts and chocolate, even some slight honeycomb sweetness. The sweetness is muted however, indeed all the flavours feel watered down, following a similar pattern to Infinite Session’s previous output. The carbonation level is quite high while the body is pretty watery. There’s a slight bit of hoppy citrus in the finish, but that again is weak.
Infinite Best follows the blueprint set out by it’s brewers other beers; that of being inoffensive and great thirst quenchers, but offer nothing much in flavour terms. If the taste of this AF beer followed on from the aroma it would be fantastic. But much like Infinite Session’s other beers everything just seems to be watered down.
Buy Infinite Best
At time of writing Infinite Best seems to be sold out from the brewer’s website, but as their beers tend to be available in Sainsbury’s you might find some in one of their stores. It’s also available online at the following drinks shops:
Nutritional Information (per 100ml, taken from the side of the can) | |
---|---|
ABV | 0.5% |
Energy | 10 kcal |
Fat | 0g |
Carbohydrates | 1.6g |
Sugar | 0.4g |
Protein | 0.2g |
Ingredients | |
Water, Malted Barley, Wheat, Oats, Hops, Yeast | |
Additional Information | |
Country of Production | United Kingdom |
Brewer | Infinite Session – https://infinitesession.com/ |
Gluten Free? | No |
Vegan Friendly? | Yes |
Infinite Best Alcohol-Free Bitter Review
Summary
Similar to Infinite Session’s other beers, their Best Bitter has the volume turned way down in the flavour department. Lovely on the nose though!